"Oh~ Unbelievable! The three carsick Dragon Slayer Mages made completely different choices at the critical moment."
With the Chariot event concluded, the second day of the Grand Magic Games moved into the battle segment, with Chapati skillfully transitioning between the two segments through his seasoned commentary.
Yajima nodded and sighed, "Natsu and Gajeel placed sixth and seventh respectively. Although their rankings aren't high, we can still see their unwavering determination to never give up."
"As for contestant Sting, he chose to abandon the race at the last moment without completing the course. It's hard to say whether this marks the beginning of Sabertooth's fall from the throne..."
Yajima's blunt comments were already provoking furious shouts from Sabertooth fans in the audience.
Chapati quickly took over the commentary to control the situation:
"Contestant Sting was simply conserving his strength. Every contestant has their own strategy~ So Mr. Jason, what are your thoughts on these two teams?"
"COOL!!"
The moment Chapati finished speaking, Jason leaped onto the table and roared excitedly.
"Fairy Tail is definitely the COOLEST! Even though times have changed, no one can surpass the essence of COOL..."
"Ahem! Ahem! Ahem!"
With both commentators showing no "partiality" in their remarks, Chapati swiftly changed the subject again.
"Let's take a look at the first battle matchup for the second day of the Grand Magic Games!"
At Fairy Tail Team A's viewing platform, Erza turned around and asked Lucy, who had just returned from the infirmary.
"How is Natsu doing, Lucy?"
Lucy shrugged helplessly. "Ms. Porlyusica said he fainted from sheer boredom. He'll be fine after sleeping for a while."
Cana sighed. "That guy... I might as well have taken his place from the beginning..."
Gray crossed his arms, frowning as he listened to the newly announced battle pairings.
"Raven Tail's Kurohebi versus Lamia Scale's Toby... Raven Tail again..."
The group had some impression of Toby—a young dog-headed man who was usually loud and boisterous, seeming to be a bit scatterbrained.
This matchup appeared to be an officially arranged warm-up battle.
Neither contestant was particularly popular, with the audience only offering occasional encouraging cheers.
As the two contestants faced each other in the arena, the moment the Pumpkin King gave the signal and the starting gong sounded, Toby let out a bark and charged forward fearlessly.
Suddenly, ten emerald-green claws sprouted from his fingers, shimmering with poisonous green light.
This was Toby's Poison Claw Magic, coated with toxins that could paralyze anyone with a slight touch.
Toby swung his claws wildly, launching a fierce assault against Kurohebi, but Kurohebi nimbly dodged every attack.
Standing in the sandy arena, Kurohebi's vertical pupils focused as the surrounding sand began to rise, forming waves that engulfed his body and surged toward Toby.
In the Fairy Tail cheering section, Makarov was vigorously cheering for Toby while Mavis swung her small feet nearby, remarking with surprise, "That's Mimicry Magic—a very rare ability."
Mimicry Magic allows Mages to create magical attacks corresponding to their environment, making it a favored magic among assassination and infiltration-type Mages.
Although Toby's Poison Claws were decent, they were outclassed when compared to Kurohebi's Mimicry Magic.
In the world of Mages, having close-combat prowess is indeed highly advantageous.
However, if one completely lacks any long-range capabilities, it deviates from the core strengths of a Mage, making them highly susceptible to being overwhelmed and defeated in a single assault.
This was precisely the situation unfolding in the arena.
Kurohebi created distance from Toby, rendering his fierce poisonous claw attacks ineffective.
Then, his body transformed into a swirling mass of yellow sand, relentlessly pummeling Toby into a dazed and disoriented state.
The outcome was clear.
Despite Toby's ferocious fighting style, Kurohebi's continuous suppression with sand-attribute Magic left him at a disadvantage.
After the match, a small incident occurred
Toby, hoping to forge a bit of friendship with Kurohebi, shared a little secret with him: his favorite sock had gone missing!
In response, Kurohebi coldly pointed at the sock hanging around Toby's neck, "helping" him locate his beloved sock—only to tear it to shreds right before his eyes!
It was an absurd little story, yet many naive and pure-hearted viewers felt immense sympathy for Toby, some even wishing they could leap into the arena and cut down Kurohebi for destroying Toby's sock.
Among them was Erza…
After a rather uneventful match, Chapati felt exhausted, convinced that this year's Grand Magic Games were far more challenging to manage than the previous one.
He raised his voice to quell the chorus of boos filling the arena and announced.
"Now, announcing the matchups for the second battle of the second day of the Grand Magic Games!"
In the viewing stand of Team B, everyone except Ankh listened with anticipation to Chapati's voice.
Compared to troublesome competitions, pure, straightforward brawls like these were far more suited for them to score points!
Ankh, however, furrowed his brow, suddenly sensing a foreboding feeling in his heart.
In Team B, only Laxus and Mirajane had yet to take the stage, while Team A still had Erza and Cana remaining.
Considering the need to keep the audience engaged with fresh matchups, the organizers would likely…
"From Fairy Tail Team A—Cana! Versus Quatro Cerberus's Bacchus!!!"
As the announcement echoed, the arena erupted into a wave of astonished murmurs.
Even Cana herself pointed at her own chest in disbelief.
Bacchus, Quatro Cerberus's substitute and their strongest fighter, who had joined the fray on the second day after their dismal performance on the first, had now been matched against Cana?
Was it sheer luck or misfortune?
Ankh gasped sharply. Mirajane voiced her concern, "Bacchus is an S-Class Mage from Quatro Cerberus. Can Cana… handle him?"
"Trust her," Ankh replied, suppressing his earlier unease as he recalled the scene from Tenrou Island during Cana's S-Class Mage examination.
"She is Gildarts's daughter after all and she has grown much stronger since then!"
Meanwhile, Cana quickly snapped out of her shock and steadied her nerves. E
rza patted her shoulder encouragingly and said with a smile, "Go on, Cana. Give it your all and take him down!"
Cana exchanged high-fives with her teammates, grinning confidently.
"Don't worry, so what if he's an S-Class Mage? Watch me take care of him!"
From the supporters' section, Makarov waved the Fairy Tail emblem flag vigorously, roaring cheers for Cana.
Though everyone was worried—or perhaps skeptical—about Cana's chances against an S-Class Mage, they made sure to pour every bit of morale and encouragement her way!
On the arena stage, Cana and Bacchus stood facing each other, the atmosphere shifting into the pre-battle taunting phase.
Bacchus still appeared thoroughly intoxicated as he rubbed his chin, scanning Cana's body up and down before grinning with a roguish smile:
"Fairy Tail... So you're that Cana who keeps failing the S-Class exams every year?"